This invention relates to an endoscopic system primarily intended for medical application to patients suffering from ileus and persons who have recovered from the disease. The endoscopic system comprises an ileus treating tube and a fine composite optical fiber as an integral assembly of an image transmitting image fiber for use in detecting and diagnosing a lesion and an optical fiber for transmitting laser light that is primarily used in inspecting and treating the lesion; the system is characterized in that it is used after the composite optical fiber is inserted into and made integral with the ileus treating tube.
Heretofore, endoscopes using optical fibers such as a fused monolithic image fiber or an image bundle have been commercialized in various types. Transmitting laser light to the lesion over the optical fiber is also a commercialized technique in laser therapy. Conventionally, the endoscope and the laser transmitting fiber are physically independent of each other and they must be inserted into the human body either through separate holes or via the lumens of catheter tubes.
For use in inspecting the interior of the small bowel, endoscopes of types other than the common type have also been commercialized and they include a push type, a ropeway type, a probe type, a double balloon type, and a capsule type. The problem is that these conventional endoscopes are only applicable in inspecting the small bowel of subjects who are not suffering from ileus or who have recovered from it.
Primarily for metal cutting and welding purposes, there have been proposed the following laser working methods and systems that employ a composite optical fiber:
(1) a laser working apparatus and a laser working method that uses the apparatus (JP 9-216086 A);
(2) a laser working apparatus and a laser working method that uses the apparatus (JP 9-216087 A);
(3) a laser working system using a composite optical fiber (JP 2003-1465 A); and
(4) an endoscopic system using an extremely fine composite optical fiber (JP 2004-47579 A).
Among these inventions, (4) relates to an endoscopic system primarily intended for medical applications and it is characterized by the use of an extremely fine composite optical fiber as an integral assembly of an image transmitting image fiber for use in detecting and diagnosing a lesion and an optical fiber for transmitting laser light that is primarily used in inspecting and treating the lesion.
However, no means exist that can solve the problems with the conventional small bowel inspecting procedures and ileus treating tubes by applying and improving the heretofore proposed techniques for the purpose of performing inspection and treatment within the small bowel.
In all conventional endoscopic systems for laser therapy, the endoscope which is responsible for image observation is physically independent of the laser light transmitting optical fiber, so in a separate step from checking the image of the lesion through the endoscope, the doctor inserts the laser light transmitting optical fiber into the human body until it comes close enough to the lesion and performs treatment by applying laser light to the lesion while checking the position of the optical fiber with the aid of the image obtained with the endoscope.
This procedure requires that the surgeon perform laser application by first checking the lesion and the optical fiber imagewise via the endoscope and then, on the basis of the obtained image information, exercising his or her discretion in directing the tip of the optical fiber to the desired position with respect to the lesion.
However, directing the tip of the laser transmitting optical fiber to the desired position with respect to the lesion largely depends on the skill and discretion of the surgeon and so does the accuracy with which the applied laser light can fall on the target position of the lesion.
The endoscope most commonly used to examine the inside of the small bowel is of a push type which is readily available (by rental) and easy to operate; however, the range that can be examined by this method is limited to the upper part of the small bowel and, what is more, the subject may suffer a pain. An endoscope of a ropeway type has a problem in that if the bowel tract has a constriction, the string may become entangled at the mouth of the constricted area to form a knot, which can be neither passed through nor extracted from the constriction. Similarly, an endoscope of a probe type does not function if the bowel tract has a constricted area. On the other hand, the recently developed endoscopes of a double balloon type and a capsule type have a potential to become standards in the art of image inspection of the small bowel. The capsular endoscope causes little pain to the subject but it has the problems of defying not only manipulation of the image taking process but also biopsy while involving the need to perform prior check for a constriction in the bowel tract. The double balloon type endoscope not only enables almost all part of the small bowel to be examined but it also allows treatments such as biopsy and polypectomy. The problems are the need to perform a pretreatment nearly as extensive as general anesthesia, increasing the complexity of the operation, and that the endoscope is difficult to insert into the bowel tract if it has a constriction. Thus, the conventional procedures of inspecting the interior of the small bowel have a common problem in that they cannot be used in diagnosing and treating patients suffering from ileus.
With a view to performing external radiography (examination with x-rays) on patients suffering from ileus, a contrast agent is administered to an area near the lesion through an ileus tube. The ileus tube is inserted into the subject's nostril and pushed farther to reach the site of interest with the position of its tip being checked by means of continued radiography. When the tip of the ileus tube has come near the duodenum in the process, air or water is externally supplied into the balloon attachment to inflate the tube, which is thereafter delivered deep into the bowel by means of its vermicular movement. In the meantime, gastrointestinal juice may be aspirated through a suction port provided near the tip of the ileus tube. After the tip of the ileus tube has reached the intended position in the small bowel, a contrast agent is injected from the outside and the lesion is examined by radiography. Two problems with the ileus tube are that it does not permit examination with the naked eye and that the surgeon is not capable of manipulating the tip of the tube at will.